Plumber’s torch identified as cause of Monday blaze at Crack of Dawn

A brick building that housed the Crack of Dawn restaurant and a former Domino's Pizza at 20-24 Bridge Street in South Hadley Falls is shown Tuesday following a fire there Monday evening.KEVIN GUTTING Purchase photo reprints »

The facade of a brick building that housed the Crack of Dawn restaurant and a former Domino's Pizza at 20-24 Bridge Street in South Hadley Falls is shown Tuesday following a fire there Monday evening.KEVIN GUTTING Purchase photo reprints »

SOUTH HADLEY — Accidental ignition from a plumber’s torch is the apparent cause of the Monday night blaze that damaged the Crack of Dawn Restaurant.

South Hadley firefighters said Tuesday the fire started while renovations were being done on the storefront next door to Crack of Dawn, a former Domino’s pizza shop.

No charges are pending in connection with the fire, according to firefighters. A cost estimate of the damage from the fire was not available.

The fire at 20-24 Bridge St. was reported at 7:53 p.m. Monday, with firefighters from both the town’s fire districts responding. Holyoke provided station coverage for District 1.

The Crack of Dawn opened in 1977 as Buddha’s, changing to its current name in 1996 and becoming a popular place for breakfast and lunch under its former owner, the late Louis Conti.

The building was used in the 1960s and 1970s to house Dinn Brothers Trophy Manufacturing, which later moved to Holyoke and is now based in West Springfield.

In December 1992, the Cowan Block, at the corner of Bridge and Main streets, was damaged by fire as it was undergoing renovation and torn down. That lot, which is immediately next to Crack of Dawn, remains vacant.